Thoughtfully curated historical journalism
Tradition That Has Lured Many Adventurers to Seek Hidden Gold.
From the New York Press.
Mexican tradition says that somewhere in the Central West are the ruins of a populous Aztec city, in which Guate Motzin stored the vast treasure which Cortez tried to find after the conquest of Mexico. Expeditions under Mexican and under foreign directions have tried in vain to find this city. The story of one attempt to locate the wonderful city made by Col. H. C. Haddington, a civil engineer In the employ of the Mexican government, certainly is curious. He says:
“The story of a lost city is familiar to all Mexicans, and believed in by most of them. When I visited Mexico for the first time in 1872 I became interested in the subject from associating with Mr. Early, an English engineer, who assured me of his belief in its existence. Before leaving the City of Mexico I inquired in government circles for information to substantiate the story told by Early. I found the officials in different departments ready to credit the reports, which they believed plausible, as at that time no complete survey had been made by the government of that district.
Two Colossal Statues of Rameses II.
History of Those Remarkable Relics of Antiquity.
Hypostyle Hall a Wonder of the World.
Other Interesting Things To Be Seen In Egypt.
Basle, Switzerland, March 25.
The Pyramids of Sakkara may easily be visited front Gizeh by donkey, but having deferred this visit for another day, we took the train for Bedrashen and from there went over the desert. This little village was formerly the centre of Old Memphis, the famous capital of ancient times, built of sun-dried bricks, made out of Nile mud, Memphis stood on the borders of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms, and was founded by Menes, the head of the First Dynasty, about four thousand years before Christ. The narrow streets of this large city were a half a day’s journey long and extended as far as Gizeh, its several quarters being known as the “South Wall,” the “White Wall,” and the “House of the Spirit of Ptah.”
But as Thebes rose Memphis declined. It was a shining mark for Cambyses, who took it by storm, and it competed for a season with Alexandria; and, at the time of Augustus, though many of its buildings were laid low, it was still a populous city. The Mohammedans appropriated a large part of its ruins when they built their mosques and dwellings on the right side of the Nile, but its vastness could not be used up in a moment and up to the 12th century it is said to have been a wonderland; finally, however, every stone was taken to make Cairo the beautiful city it is today.
Dr. William M. Lesynsky of New York says: “Coffee, when well prepared, is beyond question one of the ambrosial luxuries of modern life. It would be as wrong to condemn its use indiscriminately as it would be to deny that under certain conditions it is harmful.
“The importation of coffee into the United States amounted in recent years to about 750,000,000 pounds a year. The importations have been increasing disproportionately to the increase in the population of the country. The price of coffee has also gone down steadily. All these things indicate a steadily increasing consumption of coffee which calls for attention from those who have responsibility for the diets of the people.
